Man receives life in prison for killing fellow inmate

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News Eagle - Hawley, PA

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Posted Oct. 12, 2012 at 4:40 PM
Updated Oct 12, 2012 at 4:40 PM

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Posted Oct. 12, 2012 at 4:40 PM

Hawley, Pa.

SCRANTON- A prisoner at USP Canaan in Wayne County was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing a fellow inmate to death. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania made the announcement Oct. 12. United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced Allen Archie Hurley, age 46, to life imprisonment on two counts related to the death. On June 22, 2012, a jury took approximately one hour to find Hurley guilty of manslaughter and the illegal possession of a weapon by an inmate. According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, the evidence at trial established that on April 25, 2010, Hurley killed inmate Joseph O’Kane by stabbing him approximately 92 times in his own cell at USP Canaan. Hurley admitted at trial that he utilized a sharpened weapon commonly known as a “shiv” or “shank” to kill Joseph O’Kane, but contended that he did so while acting in self defense. In rendering its guilty verdict, the jury rejected the Hurley’s self defense claim. The case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Gurganus. United States Penitentiary at Canaan opened in 2002, near Waymart.